St. Louis County officials declared a state of emergency in the US city of Ferguson, Missouri on Monday, marking one year after the police shooting of an unarmed teenager, Michael Brown. About 60 people were arrested on Monday when protesters blocked traffic lanes on a major highway, and another 100 were arrested on Tuesday.
Netizens fired back in response to the declaration of a state of emergency with the hashtag #WhichEmergency, highlighting a range of issues they say afflict black communities in the US, from poor education to police violence. The hashtag has been used more than 10,000 times in the past day.
Some black activists are using the figure 1,083 to represent the number of people killed by police in the US since the fatal shooting of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014.
@theladysmiles argued police body cameras couldn't bring justice. Some even say the cameras fail to serve as surveillance of police activity, especially if police officers fail to hit the record button.
Others are pointing specifically to incidents of aggression towards black women in the US, including the case of Sandra Bland who died in police custody under disputed circumstances after being arrested during a traffic stop. Six of the nine victims of the race-motivated shooting in a black church in Charleston, South Carolina in June were women.